Sean McGowan is in his fourth year
as the defensive coordinator and his seventh year overall with the
UNH football staff. The 2010 season will mark his second
consecutive year – five years total – as coach of the
defensive backs; he also coached the DBs for three seasons
(2004-06) before serving as mentor of the linebackers for two years
(2007-08).

McGowan, was instrumental in
helping the Wildcat defense to lead the nation in fumble
recoveries, interceptions and turnover margin in 2005. McGowan
mentored Jeff Pammer, who earned All-America honors. Furthermore,
McGowan worked closely with Buck Buchanan Award candidate Corey
Graham, who was drafted in the fifth round of the NFL draft in 2007
by the Chicago Bears and could be a starter this season. Although
he didn’t have the official title, McGowan served in a
defensive coordinator capacity in ‘06.

McGowan arrived in Durham after
working at the University of New Haven before the school
discontinued the football program. Prior to that, he spent the 2003
season as the defensive coordinator at West Virginia Tech.

McGowan began his coaching career
at Division III Occidental College, where he served as the
quarterbacks coach. He then moved on to the University of
Pittsburgh as a graduate assistant for three seasons. McGowan spent
his first season in recruiting before moving to defense, where he
worked with the secondary. McGowan then took over as defensive
coordinator at Duquesne University, where the defense finished
ranked first in total defense in I-AA.

He was a two-year letterwinner at
Fordham as he started out as quarterback before moving to safety
his final two seasons. He received his business degree from Fordham
in 1998.